Casting Bullets for Precision Shooting

First topic message reminder :

I've been giving consideration to casting my own bullets, especially since it appears you can save a fair amount of money compared to purchasing commercial bullets, but I'm concerned with accuracy in precision shooting. What does everyone think? Do you believe you can cast bullets with good enough quality for precision shooting, especially in competition?  Even at 50 yds?

If I were to cast, I would consider casting .45, 9mm and 38 special.

Thanks!

I was going to say the same thing,  My friend was the Process guy and I was the Safety/Environmental guy. He has just begun to cast using the wheel weights.

The original post about Zinc was correct.  He said if he needed to, he could use a little zinc to save $$, but for now, NOT.

He went over the metal specs for wheel weights, based on some published data.  They are close enough to his formula when he used pure lead and had to allow it.

As to the removal of steel clips from a melting pot.  He experimented with some rare earth super magnets and different drossing techniques.  He also tried different ladles.  Bottom line, even though he is a experienced metallurgist and process engineer, he felt at risk working over the molten pot and also trying many different steel removal techniques. He also said that you loose some lead.  

Therefore, he uses his large vise and screwdriver and pops off the clips with no metal loss and recycles them.

Molten lead is a hazard anyway.  If you do it a lot, you should use a respirator. I THINK one with a P10p rating...been a while since I had to order them based on the hazard.  3M has charts.  By working outdoors and refining and casting without having to bend over or work on top of the pot, you are much safer and with a fan to move and dilute the air, PPE is probably not needed.  BUT, it would be a good idea.

Short of finding free lead and buying it from places like RotoMetals the cost of making your own projectiles is considerably more than buying them ready made.  I don't know if they can be made better or more accurate than the the commercial ones but that's my goal.  I'm new to the process and find it harder than expected choosing the right alloy, selecting the right mold and pot temperatures, lube selection and application, etc.  If I can't accomplish what I set out to do I'll gladly go back to buying from the commercial guys.

Steve in MI wrote:From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners

This is a good read.

http://www.lasc.us/fryxell_book_contents.htm

Steve, thanks for the great web reference!!!  Much appreciated.